Body Fat %??

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skinnyminni1985
skinnyminni1985 Posts: 24
in Health and Weight Loss
I am female and weight 136lbs. I have always said i dont carry my weight well, but now i think i have proof! Last night I used a body fat monitor, and my body fat % is 27! I was expecting about 20.

Now I have been trawling the internet to try and find out how much 1% weighs so I know what a healthy weight for me would be (body fat wise only - not bmi etc), and have found the following equation.....

I am 136lbs and 27% body fat.

0.27 x 136 = 36.7 (so the 27% body fat I have weighs 36.7lbs!)

Im just playing with figures here, I know that 1% of fat can take 4lbs to come off or 6lbs, plus you have muscle gain to add into this, but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts?

Replies

  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    how tall are you? i am 5ft 5 and when i first measured my bf%, i was about 128 pounds, and it was 28.8%, so you're not doing too badly!!!

    i am now 125lbs and have 26.1% bodyfat. i dotn want to lose any more weight, but would like my bodyfat to go down a bit more!
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    Pretty sure body fat doesn't mean a lot in terms of actual weight especially if you're exercising.

    My body fat was 25% and I was 12 stone.

    2 months later my body fat is 20% and I'm still 12 stone. I've just been doing lots of cardio which has burnt the fat off.
  • Tinks2007
    Tinks2007 Posts: 62 Member
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    Hi,

    Dont mean to sound stupid but how do you know what your bodyfat is? I weigh 96 pounds and am 5f 2"
  • CrystalFlury
    CrystalFlury Posts: 400 Member
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    How did you measure? The scales and handheld devices are quite inaccurate as I understand it.---but can give you a baseline from which to gauge progress...The calipers and the water submersion testing (Bodpod) are more accurate, or so I have been told. Others on here could tell you lots more I know!

    I agree. Honestly, you can sit and crunch numbers all you want but there's a good chance it's not always correct for every single person. It's similar to the "max heart rate" equation, 220 minus your age is bull crap as far as that goes. It takes real testing by professionals to figure out things such as body fat and max heart rate (through stress tests).
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Pretty sure body fat doesn't mean a lot in terms of actual weight especially if you're exercising.

    My body fat was 25% and I was 12 stone.

    2 months later my body fat is 20% and I'm still 12 stone. I've just been doing lots of cardio which has burnt the fat off.

    this is what i am aiming for - i want to stay at 126 pounds (9 stone) but decrease my bf%, under 25% would be nice!

    i have scales that tell me bodyfat.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I am female and weight 136lbs. I have always said i dont carry my weight well, but now i think i have proof! Last night I used a body fat monitor, and my body fat % is 27! I was expecting about 20.

    Now I have been trawling the internet to try and find out how much 1% weighs so I know what a healthy weight for me would be (body fat wise only - not bmi etc), and have found the following equation.....

    I am 136lbs and 27% body fat.

    0.27 x 136 = 36.7 (so the 27% body fat I have weighs 36.7lbs!)

    Im just playing with figures here, I know that 1% of fat can take 4lbs to come off or 6lbs, plus you have muscle gain to add into this, but just wondering if anyone had any thoughts?

    Well at your current weight 1% of fat would be 1.36 lbs. The less you weigh the less 1% would weigh. That being said when you lose weight you usually also lose some muscle, so if you are looking at losing 7% fat, you will probably have to lose between 8% and 12% of your weight to get there, this will differ depending on genetics, the amount of protein you eat, and the amount of strength training you do.
  • angelaclassact
    angelaclassact Posts: 66 Member
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    The pinch test is the most accurate way to determine how much body fat/muscle mass you have.
  • lorettatat
    lorettatat Posts: 30
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  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    How the hell can you weight so little and have so much body fat ?? your making me scared to check mine !!

    Women naturally have more body fat than a man, as the essential fat on a man is around 3% whereas for a woman it about 12%

    According to an article from Medscape.com, the American Dietetic Association recommends that men have 15-18% body fat and women have 20-25% body fat. Healthy male athletes might be as low as 5-12% body fat, and healthy female athletes could be as low as 10-20%.
  • fitwatch
    fitwatch Posts: 61
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    Here are my thoughts. Here are some external signs to double check the body fat reading. Check the abs - is the tummy relatively flat? If so, that is a good sign. Try a strength test - number of pushups, sit ups, and pull ups for your age just to see if your muscles are pretty strong. If you are in the upper 20%, then that is a better sign. Thirds, how does the body look objectively?

    To lower the body fat percentage, try to increase your muscle size/weight by 5 pounds. Sometimes that is the toning that you need to break 20% body fat. I assume you consider athletic to be 15% right?

    Good luck! Feel good about any size and just keep making progress.
  • Vipecap
    Vipecap Posts: 166 Member
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    The most accurate way to measure your body fat is an autopsy, no joke. Since that isn't an option, every other method will have a margin of error. Skinfold testing is the most common way and it can even have a margin of error of 3-5% depending on the tester. If you are using a handheld device or a scale, as a previous poster said, are widely inaccurate. If you are a member of gym, see if a trainer there will measure your body fat and do your measurements, even if you start off high, it is a starting point. For reference when I started my weight loss journey I was in the mid 30% range for body fat. Don't let the numbers scare you, just use them as motivation to get the numbers down :)
  • prettyfitchick
    prettyfitchick Posts: 502 Member
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